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Dominica

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Countries; Countries

                Commonwealth of Dominica

   Flag of Dominica Coat of arms of Dominica
   Flag             Coat of arms
   Motto: Après le Bondie, C'est la Ter (French)
   English translation: After God is the Earth
   Anthem: Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour
   Location of Dominica
   Capital
   (and largest city)      Roseau
                           15°18′N 61°23′W
     Official languages    English
   Government              Parliamentary democracy
    - President            Nicholas Liverpool
    - Prime Minister       Roosevelt Skerrit
        Independence       From United Kingdom
    - Date                 November 3, 1978
                          Area
    - Total                751 km² ( 184th)
                           290 sq mi
    - Water (%)            1.6
                       Population
    - August 2006 estimate 68,902 ( 201st^1)
    - 2001 census          69,625
    - Density              105/km² ( 95th)
                           272/sq mi
         GDP ( PPP)        2005 estimate
    - Total                $468 million ( 177th)
    - Per capita           $6,520 ( 91st)
         HDI  (2003)       0.783 (medium) ( 70th)
          Currency         East Caribbean Dollar ( XCD)
          Time zone        ( UTC-4)
    - Summer ( DST)        ( UTC-4)
        Internet TLD       .dm
        Calling code       + 1-767
   ^1Rank based on 2005 UN estimate.

   Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It should not be
   confused with the Dominican Republic, another Caribbean nation. The
   name is pronounced IPA: /ˌdɒ.mɪnˈiː.kə/ dom-i-NEE'-ka ( key). In Latin
   the name means "Sunday", which was the day of its discovery by
   Columbus.

   The official name is Commonwealth of Dominica. Dominica's pre-Columbian
   name was Wai'tu kubuli, which means "her body is tall." The indigenous
   Kalinago people of the island, somewhat erroneously called ' Caribs',
   have a territory which resembles the Indian reserves of Canada. Because
   the island went through a period of French occupation, and lies between
   two overseas départements ( Département d'outre-mer) of France :
   Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south; the island is
   sometimes called "French Dominica". It also has the nickname "The
   Nature Isle of the Caribbean" due to its seemingly unspoiled natural
   beauty.

   The isle of Dominica is one of the youngest islands in the Lesser
   Antilles, and it is still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity.
   It is a lush island of mountainous rainforests, home of many rare
   plant, animal and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the
   western coastal regions but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The
   Sisserou parrot is featured on the Dominica flag. Dominica's economy is
   heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.

History

   Dominica was first sighted by Europeans, including Christopher
   Columbus, in 1493. They encountered the indigenous peoples known as the
   Caribs, but soon left the island after being defeated by the Caribs. It
   is said that when his superiors asked Columbus to describe this island
   in the "New World," he crumbled a piece of parchment roughly and threw
   it on the table. This, Columbus explained, is what Dominica looks like-
   completely covered with mountains with nary a flat spot.In 1627 England
   also tried and failed to capture Dominica. In 1635 the French claimed
   the island and sent missionaries, but were unable to wrench Dominica
   from the Caribs. They abandoned the island, along with the island of
   Saint Vincent, in the 1660s.

   For the next hundred years Dominica remained isolated, and even more
   Caribs settled there after being driven from surrounding islands as
   European powers entered the region. France formally ceded possession of
   Dominica to the United Kingdom in 1763. The United Kingdom then set up
   a government and made the island a colony in 1805. The emancipation of
   African slaves occurred throughout the British Empire in 1834, and, by
   1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a
   Black-controlled legislature. In 1896, the United Kingdom re-took
   governmental control of Dominica and turned it into a crown colony.
   Half a century later, from 1958 to 1962, Dominica became a province of
   the short-lived West Indies Federation. In 1978 Dominica finally became
   an independent nation. Patrick Roland John, (b. 7 January 1938) the
   first Prime Minister of Dominica, having served from 27 July 1974 to 21
   June 1979. During his tenure, Dominica gained independence from the
   United Kingdom. He was a successful trade union leader and a mayor of
   Roseau before taking on prime ministerial duties. Dame Eugenia Charles,
   DBE (May 15 1919 – September 6, 2005) was the Prime Minister of
   Dominica from July 21 1980 until June 14 1995. She was the first female
   prime minister in the Caribbean. She helped to found the Dominica
   Freedom Party, which she served as leader from the early 1970s until
   1995. She was elected to Parliament in 1970 and became Opposition
   Leader in 1975. In 1995 Charles resigned and was replaced by Edison
   James. In 2000, Roosevelt Douglas (15 October 1941 – 1 October 2000)
   became Dominica's prime minister for eight months, from 3 February 2000
   until his death later that year. At the parliamentary elections on
   January 31,2000 he led the Dominica Labour Party to victory against the
   ruling United Workers Party of Prime Minister Edison James. He formed a
   coalition government with the Dominica Freedom Party and began office
   on 3 February 2000. After only eight months in the office Douglas was
   found on 1 October 2000 dead in his house in Portsmouth. He had
   returned only one day before from state visits to Australia, Taiwan,
   Canada and Jamaica. Douglas was succeeded by, Pierre Charles (June 30,
   1954 – January 6, 2004),Prime Minister of Dominica from 2000 to 2004.
   He was born in Grand Bay in Saint Patrick parish. A member of the
   Dominica Labour Party, he served in several cabinet posts including
   communication and works. While serving as foreign minister in the
   government of Rosie Douglas, he was officially named prime minister on
   October 3, 2000, two days after Douglas's death. Roosevelt Skerrit
   succeeded him as prime minister and became the new leader of the
   Dominica Labour Party. Election were held on May 5 2005 with the ruling
   coalition maintaining power.

Politics

   Dominica is a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth of
   Nations. The President is head of state, while executive power rests
   with the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The unicameral
   parliament consists of the 30-member House of Assembly, which consists
   of twenty-one directly elected members and nine Senators, who may
   either be appointed by the President or elected by the other members of
   the House of Assembly.

   Unlike other former British colonies in the region, Dominica was never
   a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as head of state, as it
   instead became a republic on independence. Dominica is a full and
   participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the
   Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Dominica is also a
   member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity
   Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article
   98).

Geography

   Map of Dominica
   Enlarge
   Map of Dominica

   Dominica is an island nation and borderless country in the Caribbean
   Sea, the southernmost of the Leeward Islands. The size of the country
   is about 291 square miles (754  km²). The capital is Roseau.

   Dominica is largely covered by rainforest and is home to the world's
   second-largest boiling lake. Dominica also has many waterfalls, springs
   and rivers. Some plants and animals thought to be extinct on
   surrounding islands can still be found in Dominica's forests. The
   volcanic nature of the island and the lack of sandy beaches have made
   Dominica a popular scuba diving spot. Dominica is home to several
   protected areas, including Cabrits National Park.

   The Commonwealth of Dominica is engaged in a long-running dispute with
   Venezuela over Venezuela's territorial claims to the sea surrounding
   Isla Aves (Bird Island), a tiny islet located 70 miles (110 km) west of
   the island of Dominica.

Economy

   The Dominican economy is dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
   Forty percent of Dominican workers are in the agricultural sector, and
   Dominica's primary agricultural exports include tobacco, bananas,
   vegetables, citrus, copra, coconut oil, and essential oils such as bay
   oil. The country's industries, other than tourism, include soap,
   furniture, cement blocks, and shoes. Dominica is further benefited by
   the presence of an offshore medical school, Ross University, in the
   northern town of Portsmouth. About 900 students live and study in
   Portsmouth.
   Market day in Roseau
   Enlarge
   Market day in Roseau

   The Dominican economy has high poverty (30%), high unemployment (23%),
   and a low per capita GDP (US$5,400). The Dominican economy has been
   hurt by problems in the banana industry. The entire economy suffers
   when weather conditions damage the banana crop, or when the price of
   bananas falls. The European Union has phased out preferred access of
   bananas to its markets, causing banana demand to fall. In response, the
   Dominican government privatized the banana industry. Also, the
   government has attempted to diversify the economy and has lifted price
   controls in an attempt to improve the lagging economy. The government
   is also trying to develop tourism, especially ecotourism. The lack of a
   large international airport or sandy beaches limit opportunities for
   standard tourism, but the island's heavily rainforested landscape and
   beautifully preserved environment could lure those looking for
   unparalleled ecotourism experiences. Indeed, it is remarked that of all
   the islands of the Caribbean, Dominica is the only one Christopher
   Columbus might still recognise.

Demographics

   Almost all of the 70,000 nationals of Dominica today are descendants of
   African slaves, brought in by colonial planters in the 18th century.
   However, Dominica is also one of the few islands in the Eastern
   Caribbean to possess a population of pre-Columbian Carib Indians, about
   3,000 of whom live on the island's east coast in their own territory.
   Fewer than 200 of the island's residents are white.

   The population growth rate of Dominica is very low, due primarily to
   emigration to more developed Caribbean islands, the United Kingdom, the
   United States, or Canada. English is the official language of Dominica
   and is universally understood; however, because of historic French
   domination, Antillean Creole "Patois", a French-based creole language,
   is the mother tongue of 80% of the Dominican people and this is one of
   the causes that led Dominica to join the Francophonie organization.
   About 80% of the population is Catholic, though in recent years a
   number of Protestant churches have been established.

Culture

   Dominica's East coast territory of the Kalinago(tribe)
   Enlarge
   Dominica's East coast territory of the Kalinago(tribe)

   Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Historically occupied by
   several native tribes, only a Carib tribe remained by the time European
   settlers reached the island. French and British settlers each claimed
   the island, and imported slaves from Africa. The native Caribs have a
   reserve on which they live in their traditional manner. This mix of
   cultures is important to Dominica.

   The famed novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. The
   island is obliquely depicted in her best-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea.
   Rhys's friend, the political activist and writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey,
   set her 1954 novel, The Orchid House ( ISBN 0-8135-2332-X), in
   Dominica.

   The dialect of Dominica also includes Cocoy and a French Patois.
   "Cocoy", is primarily a mix of cockney English imported by English
   settler and with an infusion of African lingual. Cocoy is mainly spoken
   in the north-eastern part of the island. The French patois which is
   more widely spoken came from the French plantation owners from the
   neighbouring French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominica"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
